Philosophical Exercises

This month (September 2024), I practiced imaginative and creative exercises in order to foster a parasocial relationship with a dead philosopher. I sometimes tell people that I am in “the honeymoon phase” when I read the works of a philosopher for the first time. By this I mean: a period of time where I am charitable towards the philosophy of an author like I would be towards that of a loved one. During this phase, what I am interested in is to understand every aspect of their philosophical system (understood broadly; theoretical system or way of life). I try, as much as I can, to side with this system against all possible objections, and I try, at all time s , to see the world through the lens of that philosophy. It is a kind of infatuation. When this happens, I am provided with a kind of companionship that is very precious to me, since the philosophy in question stays by my side in the course of my daily life. I would wager that this is not a rare phenomenon among philosophy ent...

  For the last two months (July and August 2024), I have been practicing the jhanas. What I have seen so far has blown my mind. I am only at the beginning of this journey and I have many questions. 1) The Jhanas: what they are & how accessible they can be The jhanas are altered states of consciousness; they are meditation states, as described in Buddhist texts. To put it more precisely: “The bliss states, or jhānas, are a series of concentration states. You can learn to enter these states through meditation techniques.” 1 I finally decided to take the plunge into this practice following the recent hype around it. See, for instance, Manufacturing Bliss 2 by Nadia Asparouhova: “A growing community centered on the Bay Area is rediscovering the jhanas, a meditation technique that practitioners claim could upend how we think about the brain — and transform our lives in the process.” Or for another example, “What if you could have a panic attack, but for joy?” 3 by Oshan Jarow: ...